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Mr Hamilton, who was briefing members of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on the long-running powersharing crisis, blamed Sinn Fein's "scorched earth" policy for poisoning relations between the parties.

The DUP continues to reject Sinn Fein claims it had struck a draft agreement last month before reneging in the face of a grassroots backlash from party supporters angry that potential concessions on the vexed issue of the Irish language were in the offing.

Mr Hamilton said media reports suggesting that a draft deal had been done, with claims DUP leader Arlene Foster had handed over a hard copy to Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, were the result of "mischief making" and "selective leaking" by the republican party.

The Strangford Assembly member has been a key member of the DUP's negotiating team through the various rounds of ill-fated negotiations during the 14-month impasse.

He defended the leadership of Mrs Foster and said she had headed up the negotiations at all stages of the process.

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Mr Hamilton claimed reasons preventing the restoration of devolved government included Sinn Fein "intransigence" and the party's continued "eulogising" of the IRA.

"Their behaviour in recent days and their behaviour in recent weeks suggest to me that they are not serious about getting devolution back," he said.

The powersharing institutions first imploded last January amid a row over a botched green energy scheme.

The dispute subsequently widened to take in more long-standing disputes over the Irish language; social issues like the region's ban on same sex marriage; the treatment of members of the Armed Forces; and mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

The DUP has called for a return to Westminster direct rule to stabilise the region's rudderless public services amid the continued absence of a Stormont executive.